Offshore current accounts

Offshore current account can be defined as a tax-free bank account that is used to receive and send bank wire transfers on daily basis activity of a natural or legal person. Offshore current accounts have no limits when it comes to receiving or sending money, but it must be borne in mind that depending on the activity and the nature of the business, banks can request invoices or contracts to justify that the transfer is not involved in any type of money laundering activity. The banks usually don’t verify the wire transfers for an amount equal to or less than 10,000 EUR (or equivalent value in another currency). However, in some occasions, the transfers of higher amount, depending on the country issuing the transfer, may request an invoice or contract for verification of the origin of funds. As a general rule, banks usually request to justify the origin of funds when the customer receives a transfer for more than 30,000 EUR for the first time, after which, once it has been validated by the bank's compliance team, he will not have to justify other transfers if it does not exceed another limit section established by the bank.

Offshore current accounts are the best option for the development of daily business activity since it is a type of account aimed to having the money in cash instantly. Offshore current accounts can be opened in the name of natural persons and legal persons. The final beneficiary of offshore personal current accounts is a physical holder of the bank account and of the corporate current accounts opened in the name of a company the final beneficiaries are those individuals who have more than 25% of the shares of the company. The latest anti-money laundering regulations oblige banks to identify the final beneficiaries of current accounts opened in the name of companies.

Types of offshore current accounts

The types of offshore current accounts that exist in the market today are the following:

Recurring current accounts: These are current bank accounts whose objective is to attract clients to the financial entity offering return of a certain percentage of total amount of domicile receipts, debit card for withdrawals or for making purchases. Depending on the entity this type of account is usually remunerated for 1 year.

Current wage accounts: These are current bank accounts whose purpose is to involve the client with the entity by directing their salary or any other monthly income. This type of current account is the most widespread and requested by customers.

Savings accounts: These are current bank accounts where the customer deposits the money and in exchange the bank gives him an interest rate. Currently this type of account is the least used since the interest rates of some currencies are very low and it is not stimulating for the client to have his money immobilized.

Uses of an offshore current account

The main advantage of an offshore current account is that it is exempt from taxes and the uses that can be given to an account are the following:

Set up a direct debit to pay the receipts: Using IBAN protocol within the European Union it became very easy to set up a direct debit or deposit from or to any other country member of the European Union. That is, you can pay your receipt issued in Cyprus from any bank account of the European Union, for example, Germany.

To receive a salary: You can I set up a direct deposit with your bank to receive your salary.

Charge the bank's interest: You can receive the interest from other savings accounts opened in the same entity. Make transfers: You can make international transfers to any country in the world through the SWIFT or IBAN protocol.

Pay and collect the outstanding taxes: The customer can easily receive or pay taxes owed in any country in the world.

The additional services that can be requested by a client that has an offshore current account are the following:

Checks: can be issued in any type of currency.

Credit or debit cards: Depending on the credit history, the customer may request plastic cards from his bank to make purchases in physical or virtual POS terminals.

Virtual wallet or virtual cards: The customer can request virtual wallet to deposit money in the card and be able to withdraw it in any ATM in the world. Online banking: You will have a complete online banking to perform or control any operation with a single click without having to go to your bank office.

Multi-currency accounts: You can operate in any country in the world and in the currency you prefer. You can have accounts in US $, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CNY, JPY.

FOREX accounts: Most banks have a FOREX investment platform for foreign currency investors.

Accounts for stock exchange investments: Most offshore banks offer investment in stock market accounts. Banks usually invest in the best offshore financial centers in the world such as New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

How to open an offshore current account?

Opening an offshore tax-free current account without physical presence became an easy procedure. The process of opening an offshore bank account will not take more than 15 minutes and you can start saving on taxes from today.

First step

To open an offshore current account without taxes, be it a personal account or for a company, you will have to place the order on our website. Once the order is confirmed and paid by bank transfer, credit card, Western Union or Moneygram we will move to the second step.

Second step

Register and download a form “Open the offshore current account” in your user account. Note that you will have to specify whether the bank account you want to open is persoanal or for a company.

Third step

Send us by email all the requirements. Once received, we will send you confirmation by email and our compliance team will verify the documentation provided by you. The documentation required to open a personal account is:

Copy of a passport certified by a notary: You will have to go to the notary with your passport in order to certify the page that contains the photo and your personal information.

Copy of DNI or driver's license certified by a notary: You must bring your ID or NIE to the notary so that you can certify your ID or driver's license on both sides.

A utility bill: We need a receipt on your name for electricity, water, bank services, gas or telephone. It must be less than 3 months old and it is not necessary to be certified by the notary.

A bank reference or bank account certificate: Please ask the bank where you have the personal bank account to issue a bank reference letter of your personal bank account. The bank reference must be in English obligatorily.

If you request a bank account in Belize we will need a commercial reference of lawyer, accountant, tax advisor, economist or business partner in English (only for the bank account in Belize).

If the client wishes to open an offshore current account for a company that is already incorporated, he will have to submit the following documents:

The client will have to present the documentation of each individual involved in the administration of the company (director/s and shareholder/s). Each individual have to submit the four (five in case of Belize) previous points required for the opening of bank accounts as physical person.

Apostilled deeds of the incorporated company: Copies certified by a notary of the certificate of incorporation of the company, memorandum of association, register of directors, registered shares certificates, resolution o a power of attorney to open an account.

If the company was registered more than one calendar 1 year ago, we will also need the "Good Standing Certificate".

Additional notes

The client will have to carry out the following instructions once he has all the required documentation:

Send forms and opening requirements by email to info@offshore.finance.

See what a bank certificate is.

Read and accept the Terms and Conditions of use of our services.

Once the bank confirms that all forms are filled in correctly and the bank’s compliance department accepts the requirements presented by the client, the bank account will be opened and the customer will have to transfer the minimum deposit to his account for online banking devise and debit or credit cards.

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